Accolades and awards

A destination that’s raved about

National accolades keep coming for Visit Cincy as a premier destination for conventions, meetings, and leisure travel. From USA Today, CNN.com, and Esquire to U.S. News & World Report, media outlets the world over are recognizing Cincinnati as a top destination for travelers of all ages and a community that celebrates diversity, innovation, arts, culture, and quality of life.

An Extraordinary Place to Live, Work, Study & Retire

• In 2024, Forbes named Cincinnati the Best Place For Young Professionals To Live In The U.S. Forbes wrote "The Cincinnati metro area topped our list as the best place for young professionals to live. It ranked sixth-lowest for median rental costs as a percentage of individual income (20.15%) and seventh-lowest for median homeownership costs as a percentage of household income (23.96%). Plus, it has the 12th-lowest living wage—the wage rate required to cover basic needs in the area—across the 99 metros considered."
• In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cincinnati #1 in Best Places to Live in Ohio, 50th in Best Places to Live in the U.S., and 34th in Best Places to Retire.
• Cincinnati ranked #27 in the Elevate Leadership Best Cities for Working Families in 2025. Cincinnati received an overall grade of A-.
• The non-profit Trust for Public Land ranked Cincinnati #6 out of the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. on its 2023 list of Cities with the Best Parks, citing its research that found 88% of Cincinnati residents live within a 10-minute walk from a park.
• In 2024, RentHop ranked Cincinnati #5 of the Best Cities for Single Young Professionals
• In 2024, Cincinnati was ranked as the 11th Best City for Work-Life Balance by Elevate Leadership.
• Cincinnati received a Perfect Score on the HRC Index for its commitment to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees.
• In 2024, MovieMaker Magazine named Cincinnati the 11th best city to live and work in the U.S. film industry this year. The annual list is compiled based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research and personal visits. The magazine called Cincinnati a "diverse, friendly city that's as American as it gets, with a lower-than-average cost of living."
• The Street named Cincinnati #6 on its 2023 list of The Best Cities for Living an Active Lifestyle.
• In 2024, Cincinnati ranks #9 Among the Best Cities for Pet Owners by Forbes Advisor.
• In 2023, WalletHub voted Cincinnati the #4 Best City for Recreation.
• In 2022, Cincinnati placed #1 on SmartAsset’s ranking of the Best Cities for New College Grads for the 4th year in a row.
• In 2022, The Ascent by Motley Fool ranked Cincinnati #5 on its list of Best Midwest Cities for Millennials.
• Bankrate.com ranked Cincinnati #3 on its 2022 list of the Best Places for First-Time Homebuyers.
• SmartAsset ranked Cincinnati the #9 Best U.S. cities for millennial homebuyers
• Cincinnati ranked #9 on Glassdoor's list of Best Cities for Jobs in 2020, based on hiring opportunities, cost of living, and job satisfaction.
• Cincinnati was ranked the second hottest real estate market in 2024 by Zillow. Factors include expected home value growth, projected change in owner-occupied households, and job growth compared to new construction.

A Travel Destination That’s Fun, Friendly & Unforgettable

• In a 2023 report by WalletHub, Cincinnati was named the 29th Best Summer Travel Destination, beating every other major city in Ohio. Cincinnati also ranked in the Top 10 in WalletHub's list of the cheapest U.S. locations that are also easy to reach.
• In 2023, Privacy Journal ranked Cincinnati as the 24th-best U.S. city for gamers
• Smart Meetings ranked Cincinnati #4 on its 2021 list of the 7 Friendliest U.S. Cities for Recreation.
• In 2018, Smart Meetings featured Cincinnati as one of its 9 Destinations on the Rise, the only U.S. city included on the list.
• The New York Times listed Cincinnati at #8 on its list of 52 Places to Visit in 2018.
• Travel + Leisure listed Cincinnati among the 50 Best Places to Travel in 2017. Cincinnati was the first of only seven U.S. cities to be included in the roundup.
• The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame was named one of the 11 Museums and Monuments Keeping Black Music Alive in 2024.
• USA TODAY announced the top museums of 2025 on Wednesday, as part of its 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and four Cincinnati museums ranked among the best in the country. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center ranked second overall in the Best History Museum category, landing in the top three for the fifth year in a row. Cincinnati History Museum, located at Cincinnati Museum Center, ranked right behind it at No. 3. American Sign Museum in Camp Washington ranked No. 3 for the Best Pop Culture Museum, and the Children's Museum, also located at the Museum Center, was No. 5 for Best Children's Museum.

A Culinary Dream in the Heart of the Midwest

• Six Cincinnati restaurants have been honored in OpenTable's 2024 list of the Top 100 Restaurants in America. Cincinnati is the only city in the state of Ohio to receive the designation.
• Cincinnati was named one of America's Next Great Food Cities in 2022 by Food & Wine, which called Cincinnati one of the “most exciting up-and-coming destinations for food lovers.”
• Sharonville & Hamilton based brewery; Third Eye Brewing named Grand National Champion at 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship
• WalletHub ranked Cincinnati #21 out of 182 U.S. on its list of the Best Foodie Cities in America in 2021.
• SmartAsset ranked Cincinnati #4 out of the 366 rated cities in its 2021 list of the Best Cities for Beer Drinkers.
• Tasting Table ranked Cincinnati the #8 Best City in the U.S. for Beer Lovers in 2024
• Real Estate Witch conducted a 2021 study to determine the 50 Best Beer Cities in America, and Cincinnati ranked #11.

A Sports Fan's Paradise

• Cincinnati continues to become a burgeoning soccer market as it ranked as One of the Nation's Top 20 Cities for Soccer, according to WalletHub in 2017.
• Cincinnati ranked #9 among 245 U.S. cities – and #1 in Ohio – in WalletHub’s report on 2022’s Best Cities for Football Fans.

Earning the Trust of a Generation of Meeting Planners

Visit Cincy (formerly the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau) has received the following awards, all based on voting by professional meeting planners:

• Platinum Choice Award by Smart Meetings magazine.  The Platinum Choice Awards - a coveted industry honor with winners selected by top meeting professionals and Smart Meetings readers
• Gold Service Award by Meetings and Conventions magazine In addition, the CVB was awarded the Gold Awards Hall of Fame. 
• Successful Meetings Pinnacle Award
• "Award of Excellence" from Corporate & Incentive Travel
• Middy Awards from Ohio Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (OACVB)
• Ruby Awards from Ohio Travel Association (OTA)
• Public Relations Society America (PRSA) Blacksmith Award Finalist 2007
• 2021 Paul Sherlock Legend Award to Randie Adam, Visit Cincy’s Vice President of Marketing & Visitor Experience. The Award is the Ohio travel industry’s highest honor, recognizing one individual each year who exemplifies professional, personal and career excellence.

Convention Centers & Event Space for Every Meeting Opportunity

• In 2024, Meetings Today ranked Visit Cincy as one of the Best MidAmerican CVBs/DMOs.
• In 2022, MeetingSource ranked Cincinnati among its Top 25 Convention Cities in the U.S.
• The Duke Energy Convention Center earned the Facilities & Destinations Prime Site Award in 2012, 2013 & 2014.
• Exhibitor Magazine named the Duke Energy Convention Center one of the Top 30 Convention Centers in North America in 2020, 2021, and 2022
• The Sharonville Convention Center has been awarded LEED Silver certification established by the U.S. Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).